Day 10 in New Zealand

On Sunday morning, we attended church at the Whangarei Second Ward. Unfortunately, the First Ward (where James spent most of his time) didn’t start until 1 p.m. and we couldn’t wait that long to get on the road. It was good to go to church and we enjoyed watching the Primary program. Little kids are so funny! After church, we made our way north to the Waipoua Forest which is home to many of New Zealand’s kauri trees. The largest kauri tree is named Tane Mahuta (God of the Forest) and it was huge. We passed through Opononi and continued on to Paihia, which is in the Bay of Islands. After settling into our hotel, we took a stroll downtown. I got some mango sorbet (not James’s favorite) and then we went to Waitangi, which is where the British signed a treaty with the Maori allowing them to keep the rights to their lands (which wasn’t always followed). At Waitangi, we visited the huge Maori war canoe (waka) and marae. We spent hours trying to find somewhere decent to eat dinner, but settled with a baguette and some spaghetti sauce from the store. Seriously. New Zealand food is horrible!